Preschool (aged one to six) - ILT Education

Educator GuidePreschool

(aged one to six)

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© 2021 Dr. Ann M. Neely and ILT Education, Toronto

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Contents

Chapter One: Introduction / About Polylino 5

Chapter Two: About the Author 6

Chapter Three: Using Picture Books in Preschools 7

Chapter Four: Child Development and Emergent Literacy 9

Two, Three and Four-Year Old’s 9Five and Six-Year Old’s 10Emergent Literacy Development 10

Chapter Five: Planning and Organizing the Reading Environment 13

Classroom Set-Ups 13Fostering a Love of Reading 14Using the classroom to support literacy 14

Chapter Six: Choosing Books 16

Chapter Seven: Culturally Diverse Books 18

Chapter Eight: Talking About Books 20

ILT EDUCATION 3CONTENTS

Chapter Nine: Working with Parents 21

Why should parents read to their children? 21Habits of reading at home 22

Chapter Ten: Digital Media in the Preschool 24

Why Polylino? A personal note from the author of this guide 25

Chapter Eleven: Books to Start With 26

Note from the Author

This Educator’s Guide is intended for early childhood educators who teach children ages one to six. In this guide, we use the terms “preschool” and “preschoolers,” but also include those who work in kindergartens, childcare centers, etc.

ILT EDUCATION 4CONTENTS

Language development and creating a love for books are two of the most important tasks in early childhood education. This guide provides advice on how picture books can best be used to accomplish these tasks in preschools, day-care centers, kindergartens, and early elementary grades. It includes guidance on ways to promote language development, language diversity, and communication skills. This guide is written in conjunction with the highly successful Swedish-created digital picture book service Polylino*, which uses picture books to support these developmental stages in young children.

The content and structure of this guide is to provide early childhood educators with useful and practical information for working with children and picture books.

The guide begins with a discussion of child development and the characteristics of emergent literacy. In the subsequent chapter, important information about planning for a successful reading environment is shared. This is followed by chapters where choosing books (particularly books with diverse characters and settings) will be the focus. The next chapter discusses ways to best talk to young children about the picture books they encounter. The following chapter looks at the important cooperation between educators and parents. Finally, immediately before the last chapter that shares guidance on specific Polylino digitized books, is a chapter discussing the rationale for using these books in preschools.

We hope that you find this guide informative and that it will provide suggestions, tips, and arguments for using picture books in the preschool setting.

Chapter One: Introduction / About Polylino

* Polylino was created and developed by ILT Education, an educational company originally based in Sweden. The internationally successful multilingual digital picture book service offers teachers and students the ideal classroom solution for blended learning, supporting language development and learning through literacy. For more information about Polylino, please visit https://www.ilteducation.com

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https://www.ilteducation.com

Chapter Two: About the Author

Dr. Ann M. Neely has spent 35 years of her 40-year career at Vanderbilt University. She came to Peabody College’s Department of Teaching and Learning in 1985 as director of Elementary/Early Childhood Student Teaching and to teach courses in education. Although she held a variety of administrative roles for the college and university, she always taught at least one class in children’s literature and became known nationally as an expert in the field.

She created courses in children’s literature that included experiential learning through travel (Harry Potter/ trip to London, E.B. White/trip to Maine). She also created classes that focused on the literature of social transformation that included travel to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. A second version of this class included an opportunity for students to work with local Nepali refugee families. These examples illustrate why Neely is regarded as a creative teacher who was always looking for meaningful experiences for her students.

Neely has worked with non-profit organizations focusing on the education of preschoolers. She chaired a task force that developed the Westminster School for Young Children and served on the Board of the Martha O’Bryan Center which included a preschool.

Neely joined the Polylino team to create this Educator Guide in 2021. Her research into using picture books with young children and her work with preschool teachers has informed her development of this guide.

Dr. Ann M. Neely

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Chapter Three: Using Picture Books in Preschools

One of the major goals of every preschool is to give children opportunities to develop and use their language skills. Reading aloud to young children provides them with models of language and new vocabulary. During times when books are being read aloud, children listen to the rhythm and structure of the written language. When books are carefully chosen, children enjoy the stories that are told as well as the illustrations that go along with the stories.

The author of Charlotte’s Web, E. B. White wrote, “Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth… Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net.” E. B. White was right; the text of picture books should not be overly simple. The context of a sentence should help the child understand a word he/she may not have known before. The illustrations or photographs that accompany the text should also help to understand.

The language of a picture book should expand children’s store of words and concepts. Sophisticated vocabulary should not be avoided. For example, in Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter is tangled up in a large net in Mr. MacGregor’s garden. “…[H]is sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.” While children may need a bit of help, they quickly understand what the birds are telling Peter: “We beg you to get moving!”

The text of picture books should expand children’s knowledge of words and concepts. It should enlarge a child’s vocabulary from what he learns through everyday conversation. In such conversations, we rarely speak in complete sentences or paragraphs. Books introduce these to young children. They also offer topics, concepts, and situations that are both familiar and unfamiliar to young children.

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Hopefully, a picture book will open the door for a good discussion between the child and an adult. Such a conversation will also expand the child’s vocabulary. Whenever possible, the discussion should extend the story in the book. For example, the child might be asked, “What do you think happens next?” We will provide more tips for these conversations in Chapter Eight.

In addition to language development, preschools want to provide picture books that help children grow a love for being read to and, eventually, reading on their own. Books should support the development of the child’s imagination. They should give children new perspectives on the world and provide situations that may be new to children.

Young children who are read to will likely use books as models for their own writing. They may also use the book’s illustrations as models for their own artwork.

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Chapter Four: Child Development and Emergent Literacy

Adults who teach young children need to be aware of child development theories. They must keep in mind the characteristics of children at different ages and stages of development. Of course, they must also remember that each child is unique and will develop in somewhat different ways. Below is a brief summary of growth patterns that may be helpful to teachers as they select books for preschoolers.

Two, Three and Four-Year Old’s

The Child is the center of his/her own world. Interests, behavior, and thinking are egocentric. Normally 3 and 4-year old’s see only one point of view. They like story characters who are easy to relate to.

Curious about their own world. Enjoys stories about everyday experiences, toys, pets, and home.

Building concepts. Books can introduce new topics and extend the child’s understanding of concepts.

Learn through imaginative play. Make-believe and magical worlds (where animals talk, for example) seem very real. Children like to act out stories, using stuffed animals and toys as props.

Develop language very rapidly. Children are interested in words. They enjoy rhymes, repetition, and nonsense. They like to make up stories about pictures.

Very active. Have a short attention span. These characteristics require books that can be complete during one sitting. Whenever possible, they enjoy participating in the story. They also like hearing the same story several times (or more!).

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Five and Six-Year Old’s

Expansion of language; further development. Multiple opportunities to hear a picture book being read throughout the pre-school day provide children the opportunity to hear rich and varied language. Unlike in conversation, they hear words used in complete sentences and paragraphs.

Attention span is increasing. While these children still prefer short stories, they are beginning to enjoy longer texts or even chapters of a short novel.

Humor is developing. Children need to hear many books read aloud for pure fun. They enjoy books with surprise endings. They like silly poems. And they really like to be in on the joke.

Seek independence from adults. They need to have opportunities to select their own books. These children enjoy fairy tales where the child character is the hero (Hansel and Gretel for example).

Emergent Literacy Development

Adults who work with young children also need to be aware that children are developing as readers long before they know how to read words the conventional way. Researchers have found that young children pick up on reading behaviors simply from being around print and seeing others in their lives reading. This is called emergent literacy. So, every time someone reads a book to a child or even reads a shopping list, newspaper, or recipe around a child, he/she learns a little about what it means to be a reader. Children start to enact these reading behaviors and, though they aren’t reading conventionally yet, they are making meaning from the book they’re looking at. They ARE reading!

Below are emergent literacy behaviors you can expect to see from young children.

• Selecting books: All children enjoy reading books they are familiar with; books that have been read aloud to them either at home or at school. You may notice children selecting these books to read alone or with peers frequently. When choosing from unfamiliar books, children may spend time looking over the cover to decide if the book interests them. Some children tend toward fiction stories, others enjoy the photographs of real-world objects found in informational texts.


• Holding books & Turning Pages: Young children learn the correct way to orient the book when they read by observing others. At first, the book may be upside down, or they may turn the pages from back to front. But, with small nudges and support from others, children can learn how to carefully turn the pages of the book. Younger children who are still developing fine motor control may need the sturdy pages of a board book to do this successfully.

• Pointing to and talking about pictures: Young children may point to pictures and babble or look at an adult with curiosity. They may want to know the name of what they’re pointing to, or hear about what’s happening in the picture. As their language develops, they may name or label specific objects or actions in the pictures. As children grow in their understanding of story structure, they will begin to connect the ideas from one page to the next using words like “and then…” or “next….” Retelling the story is easier to do with books they are familiar with since they can draw on their memory for support. Though even with unfamiliar books, children can look at the pictures and create a story.

• Imitating story reading intonation: Even before children can speak, they may begin to mimic the rhythms and patterns of familiar books. As children gain more experience with books, they refine this ability; even using a different intonation for fictional stories and informational texts becomes a habit.

• Reciting familiar lines of the story: When reading familiar books, children will recite familiar lines. Even if they’re not reciting every word perfectly, they’re using what they remember from the book and what they see in the pictures to tell the story. This meaning-making work is an important part of early reading development.

• Talking about the book: Children often switch between reading the book (again, we’re not simply talking about conventional reading, but all of the behaviors listed here!) and commenting about the book. They may react to something in the book (“Oh, that’s so scary!” or they may make a connection (“I have a black dog too!”). Reading requires us to think and process the ideas of the text as we read. Oftentimes in older children and adults, this thinking happens silently in our heads. But, young children often say their thoughts out loud. Older children may begin to guess how the character is feeling or what may happen next in the story.


• Attending to print: Even very young children may begin to point to print during book reading. As children become more familiar with reading, they may point to the text while they say the story. Older children may notice letters they know, familiar words, or begin sounding out words. Often, children’s early interest in print includes letters from their names.

As you can see from this list, reading is much more than simply decoding the words on the page. Young children begin to learn about how to hold books, turn pages, the kinds of stories one can find in books, the rhythmic sounds of a rhyming book so much longer before sounding out words. This emergent literacy development is a crucial part of preschool classrooms.


Chapter Five: Planning and Organizing the Reading Environment

Creating a classroom environment that celebrates reading and encourages children to actively engage with books is essential for developing readers. To do this, teachers must consider classroom setup and develop meaningful interactions around books.

Classroom Set-Ups

A classroom library or ‘book nook’ center is an important part of every early childhood classroom. It should be a cozy place where children can have conversations about books with each other and with teachers. Make sure the space is large enough for multiple children since young children often like to read books together. Child-sized chairs, large pillows, and stuffed animals help make the space inviting. Book shelves should include a range of texts from sturdy board books for our youngest readers, to high-quality picture books, informational texts, books with characters from their favorite television shows, and early chapter books for older children. Display books with covers facing out, since the covers are intentionally designed to draw young readers in and give them an idea of what the book is about. Polylino is greatly aligned with this concept and so displays different bookshelves with book covers facing out, enabling children to choose their own books.

Books should also be located throughout the classroom. Favorite books to be read aloud may be displayed near the circle-time area. Children can return during center time to reread or even dramatize these stories with friends. Books about trees can accompany leaves in the science center. A small basket of books may be placed near the baby dolls in dramatic play so children can feed, clothe, and read to their babies as they play. Number books may be placed in an area with math manipulatives. Books about buildings can be placed in the area of the blocks to inspire young architects.

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Fostering a Love of Reading

Developing a culture of reading in the classroom gets children excited about books. Encourage them to bring books from home and take time at the beginning or end of the day to read those books to the class. Be sure to read books to children multiple times. Just like young children want to watch their favorite movies over and over again, they also like to read books multiple times.

Bring new books to the classroom throughout the year. Introduce new books with excitement to build interest in reading. These books may be related to a theme being explored in the classroom such as dinosaurs, or they may be related to holidays or events. Put away books that have been in the classroom for a while so there aren’t too many books out at one time. Polylino enables you to choose from a large library of books with a huge variety in themes and books that fit different development stages. You can also create your own bookshelves which allows you to choose and put away books.

Take time to teach young children how to handle books. Help them learn to hold and carefully turn pages. However, don’t expect perfection. It’s perfectly normal for young children to tear pages accidentally. Some teachers have a “book hospital” basket in their classroom where children can place books that need repairs.

Teach children how to put away books on the shelves or in the baskets with the covers facing out. Celebrate these early reading behaviors when you see children doing them. Knowing how to hold a book, turn pages, point to pictures and talk about them are all important early reading skills that children develop in their preschool years. Older children can be helpers in keeping the book areas orderly.

Using the classroom to support literacy

As teachers plan for opportunities for children to listen to picture books being read aloud, they will want to consider the following questions:

• When should the book be read?

• Is there a good place (that is obvious to children) for the book to be read aloud?


• Who is reading? Is a teacher reading the book? Is the child listening to the story and seeing the illustrations on an electronic device?

• Which children will be participating?

• Do all children have an opportunity to listen to and look at a book in groups or individually every day?

• How can we split the groups to best talk about the book that was read aloud?

• How is your preschool able to get books? Can you use the public library as a resource if there are few books available for each classroom? Can you use Polylino?


Chapter Six: Choosing Books

The author Madeline L’Engle wrote about the importance of choosing books.

“Those of us who teach, who suggest books to either children or adults, are responsible for their choices.

We can surely no longer pretend that our children are growing up into a peaceful, secure, and civilized world. We’ve come to the point where it is irresponsible to try to protect them from the irrational world they will have to live in when they grow up.

Our responsibility to them is not to pretend that if we don’t look, evil will go away but to give them weapons against it.

One of the greatest weapons of all is laughter, a gift for fun, a sense of play which is sadly missing from the grownup world.”

Adults who are selecting books should always be on the lookout for books that give children a deeper understanding of the realities of childhood. Teachers need to know lots of books in order to best guide a child to what he/she’ll like.

There are two main reasons why we (both adults and children) read:

1. To obtain general knowledge

2. To gain relaxation and enjoyment

For young children, these two reasons are very much intertwined. Children will gain information about the world around them through books that they also enjoy. They find security in reading information in a book or seeing illustrations that remind them of their own world. They will also gain information from books that are about totally different places. For example, a child living in the city may find a book about a farm to be very interesting. So, we want to expose children to books that mirror their own experiences as well as those that are “windows to the world.”

ILT EDUCATION 16CHAPTER SIx

The most powerful determinants of what we, as adults choose to read include:

• Accessibility

• Interest

• Knowledge of the author

• Recommendations from others

Opportunities to discuss These are also determinants in what children will choose to read. What books are available and accessible to them? Are the topics covered in the book of interest to them? Are there books by the same author and illustrator that the children recognize (for example, children will quickly recognize the art of Eric Carle)? What books do peers and adults recommend to them? Finally, the more opportunity the child has to discuss the book and present his own thoughts on the book, the more interested he/she will be in books.

It is very important to understand the developmental stages of children. We must know the child’s interests, experiences, and tastes. How can an adult learn what the young child’s interests are? First, you must give them chances to talk about their experiences. Listen actively when they talk. Respond positively to what you hear them say. Ask questions of children to confirm or clarify what they say.

ILT EDUCATION 17CHAPTER SIx

Chapter Seven: Culturally Diverse Books

What happens if young children never see themselves in books that are being read to them? And what happens if young children only see themselves in books that are being read to them? All children need books that reflect their own experiences as well as those of children who are different from them.

Multicultural books include characters of color as well as a main character that represents a minority point of view. Books containing stories that share ideas and information about race, culture, language, and traditions are important to include in a preschool classroom. A multicultural perspective provides young children of different cultures an opportunity to bring their own knowledge and experiences into the classroom.

As a preschool teacher, what should you keep in mind when you are trying to choose multicultural books? The award-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney says that you first want to make sure that it is a terrific story. He points out that an exciting story gives the young child an opportunity to better understand another culture and to begin to connect with that culture in positive ways.

A list of ways for teachers to evaluate culturally diverse books includes:

• Are stereotypes of the characters avoided? Beware of reinforcing stereotypes that may have been assigned to any large group of people.

• Is the setting authentic? Again, be sure to watch out for stereotypes. For example, Native American people have historically lived in a variety of homes other than tepees. And Native Americans are a part of our society today, living in homes similar to all Americans.

• Are the illustrations true to life? Illustrations and photographs should present the reality that members of any ethnic group look different from each other. Caricatures should be avoided. With photographs, captions should include a specific location and situation.

• Is the culture accurately portrayed in the opinion of someone who is inside that culture? Some children’s literature experts believe that authors should only write about the culture to which they belong; others believe that authors may write about different cultures from an outsider’s point of view as long as the cultural group is portrayed in a respectful and authentic way.

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• Does the dialogue reflect the language or dialect of the characters? Is it presented in a way that does not make the text difficult to read? Teachers should always read the book ahead of time to make certain that unfamiliar words are pronounced correctly.

Prior to the 1960’s, it was almost impossible to find African-American characters in picture books. That has certainly changed, but publishers still have strides to make in this area. Teachers need to search for books published in very recent years to find books with characters of color. Each year, the Coretta Scott King Award is given to an author and illustrator of the most distinguished portrayal of the African-American experience. The list of these award recipients is an excellent place for teachers to quickly find excellent books. (http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/coretta-scott-king-book-awards-all-recipients-1970-present)

Another resource for teachers is the website “We Need Diverse Books” (https://diversebooks.org). The many books recommended include those with African-American, Asian, Latin, and American Indian characters. Booktalking kits are also available on this website.

Polylino offers a variety of culturally diverse books. You can search by certain keywords or look for bookshelves such as “Cultures”, “Folktales”, or “Countries”. Some Examples of books to get you started are provided in chapter eleven.

Also, consider the different languages spoken by children in your classroom. Look for bilingual books. You may also invite parents to read aloud books in their home language to the children or ask them to help translate books from your classroom library. In Polylino you can choose books that can be read aloud in English and a growing collection of books read aloud in dozens of different languages. You can use online translation sites such as https://translate.google.com but be sure to check the translations with fluent speakers of that language.

Another way to put more culturally diverse books into your classroom is to make them yourself. Take pictures of the children at play in the classroom and ask the child to tell you what they’re doing in the photo. Write that text underneath. You can even make electronic books using an app like BookCreator. In the app, parents can record a sentence about that picture in their home language. When children open the electronic book to read it, they can hear their parents’ voices and their home language.

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http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/coretta-scott-king-book-awards-all-recipients-1970-present

http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/coretta-scott-king-book-awards-all-recipients-1970-present

https://diversebooks.org

https://translate.google.com

Chapter Eight: Talking About Books

Teachers should always read the books they are planning to share with children ahead of reading them aloud in the classroom. Study both the text and illustrations carefully. We want to avoid reading versions of Cinderella where the stepsisters’ toes are cut off or their eyes pecked out!

By pre-reading the books, teachers are able to plan some of the questions that they will want to ask the preschoolers. Having a conversation about a picture book is a very important part of sharing books with young children. For some books, the teacher may want to define new vocabulary before he/she begins to read the book aloud. Conversations may also occur as the book is being read.

We want to encourage children to react or respond to stories as we read. This shows us that children are actively thinking about the story being read. Teachers can model these types of responses by pausing briefly to say things like, “Oh that was surprising!” or “I hope he doesn’t do that!” as the story is being read.

Teachers asking questions while the book is being read should be fairly limited to avoid interrupting the story too often. You do not want to lose the momentum of the story. But questions such as “What do you think will happen next?” or “Why do you think that happened?” may help children refocus on the story.

Open-ended questions, without a right or wrong answer, work best after the read-aloud is finished. Conversation about the literature need not be asking the child to recall details from the story or illustrations. Instead, this time should be an opportunity for the teacher to hear the child’s thought process. You will also observe developing language skills and growth in literacy.

Finding books that allow children to act out a portion of the story will also prompt good questions. Dramatization will give children the opportunity to bring the story to life. Emotions can be reflected in the “actor’s” voice and facial expression. And dramatization contributes to understanding and comprehension of the story.

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Chapter Nine: Working with Parents

Reading aloud to children in the classroom every day is a crucial part of developing readers. However, strong readers also need to have strong reading habits at home. Helping parents learn the importance of reading aloud to their children and supporting them in creating a home reading environment is an important part of any early childhood program.

Many parents believe that when they read to their children at home, they should be teaching them how to read. But, as Jim Trelease reminds us in The Read-Aloud Handbook, reading to children is not about teaching children how to read, it’s about teaching them to want to read. With that frame, a parent’s job is simply to make reading fun and enjoyable. The reading development will take care of itself.

Why should parents read to their children?

• Reading builds the bond between parent and child. Uninterrupted time with your child, without dishes to wash, work to do, and other daily tasks is hard to come by! Setting aside a special time for reading daily ensures at least a few minutes each day of quality time between parent and child. They’ll fall in love with reading, not only because the books are amazing, but because they love being with their parents. Silly moments in the stories will become inside jokes between parent and child. The information learned in a book might come in handy while at the park (“Look at that worm! Do you see the stripe on its body, just like in the book?”). The reading time also helps parents get to know their child more deeply. Children will comment on events in the stories and ask questions. The conversations that develop from their comments and questions will help parents learn about their child and their interests, fears, and personalities. This intimate time between parent and child is precious.

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• Builds children’s vocabulary, grammar, and listening comprehension. Many children’s books include rich vocabulary and complex sentence structures. In fact, analyses have shown that children’s books have more complex language and vocabulary than everyday speech or the language heard on television (Don’t be surprised if reading to your child also involves looking up a few words in the dictionary or online!). So, by reading to children, they become familiar with the language, grammar, and story structures of books. These foundations will set them up for success as they take over the job of reading the words themselves. Remember those conversations children initiated during reading time? These conversations help develop children’s reading comprehension abilities. The back and forth talk between children and adults is also a critical tool for language development. Basically, by reading to children and conversing about the books, you can’t help but support language and reading development!

Reading to children every day is the single most important thing parents can do to support their children’s reading development.

Habits of reading at home:

• Daily reading time: setting aside a daily time (15-30 minutes) for reading will create a special routine that children look forward to each day. Many parents find reading to children before bed is a great way to help them wind down after a busy day. For other families, first thing in the morning works better. Early risers may enjoy crawling into bed with a parent and sharing a storybook together to begin the day. Each family can find what works best for them. Remember though that young children may not be able to pay attention for 15 minutes right away. Parents should build up to longer blocks of reading time slowly if necessary. Reprimanding children to “pay attention” or “sit still” could harm their interest in reading. Allow the young child to play with blocks, dolls, or other toys while they listen.


• Trips to the library: A library card is free and gives families access to many wonderful books. A weekly trip to the library to pick out new books for the week can be a highlight of a young child’s life. Librarians can help children find books that match their interests. Your local library might even have recordings of the stories that can be checked out with the books so children can listen to the stories independently. Consider inviting a librarian to an open-house for your school or childcare center so they can tell parents about the many resources for children (and parents) available at the library.

• Have books handy: Encourage parents to keep books in the diaper bag or a purse. It’s a great way to keep children occupied while waiting for a doctor’s appointment or in line at the grocery store. A basket of books in the bathroom may prompt a child to read a book while using the toilet or as they soak in the tub. Plastic tub books can be great for toddlers to explore on their own while they splash in the tub. Books by the door can keep one child entertained while getting a second child ready to leave the house. When books are readily available, children will read more.

• Talk about the story: Parents should tune in to what children are paying attention to as they read. When infants point to a picture or laugh at part of the story, adults can comment on what the child noticed. Responding to children in this way supports their language development. When older children comment on something from the story, respond by asking them a question or elaborating on their idea. If the story asks a question (“What did Spot find?”), parents can stop reading and discuss the question with their children. Conversations about books are an important part of developing language and reading comprehension.

• Read to children in their home language: Families where languages other than English are spoken often feel the need to read to their children only in English to support their schooling. However, research shows that reading to children in their home language is important for supporting reading and language development in both languages. Parents will likely read books in their home language more fluently and be better able to support conversation about the books. Reading to children will be more enjoyable for parents in their home language as well which means it’s more likely to become an enjoyable family routine. These benefits will carry over into children’s reading in English as they acquire the new language. Parents can find books in their home language in Polylino. Teachers can also help parents find books in their home language perhaps by connecting families to local librarians.


Chapter Ten: Digital Media in the Preschool

Computers, smartphones, and tablets---today’s children are growing up surrounded by technology like never before. From a very young age, they are increasingly using digital media in their homes. We are only beginning to understand and effectively use this technology in the preschool classroom. Important research is now being done to study the outcomes of such use.

It is being suggested that children from homes with little history of reading and few books may greatly benefit from the use of e-books and digitized picture books such as Polylino offers. This is also likely the case in preschool classrooms with limited resources. Digitized picture books may become a valuable supplement to what is available for preschoolers.

Digitized picture books should be free of gimmicks and distractions. For example, if the story is about a frog, the digitized illustration should not have the frog hop across the page.

Of course, we need to be cautious with the time the young child is interacting with a screen. Preschool children should not spend more than an hour each day with screen media. Parents need to be certain that the use of screen media needs to end at least an hour before bedtime.

While today’s children are far more accustomed to navigating technology, teachers using digitized picture books in the preschool classroom will need to:

• Show children how to turn on the device

• Show children how to orient the screen

• Demonstrate how to open an e-book and turn the page

Also, the teacher may want to turn off the sound the first time and read the text aloud to the children.

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A major advantage of using digitized books is that they accommodate narration in different languages. For a child who speaks multiple languages, this is particularly valuable. In cases where English is not spoken at home, the child can enjoy the text in both English and the home language.

Teachers may well find some resistance from other adults in using digitized picture books in their preschool classrooms. It is very important for the teacher to share the purpose, methods, and content of using digitized versions of the books. Newsletters to parents and parent meetings are good ways to share this information.

Show parents and administrators that you are using computers and tablets as only a portion of your “toolbox.” Explain, how this tool can help children work with each other to share a story and talk about it. They can even create their own picture books and tell the story in different languages.

Why Polylino? A personal note from the author of this guide

When I was first approached about creating this Educator’s Guide for Polylino, I must admit to being very reluctant. I have spent my entire career teaching beginning teachers how to find, evaluate, and use hard copies of picture books. I don’t like to read e-books---I want a hard copy of a book in my hands. Many of my university students have felt the same way. However, in recent years, I have seen them gravitate to reading their textbooks and novels electronically.

What influenced me most was seeing the Polylino app. The app allows the child to listen to the story and carefully look at the illustrations. The app can be used by an individual child, a pair, or a small group of children with or without an adult. None of the gimmicks other e-books use are present on the Polylino app; pigs don’t grunt, monkeys don’t climb trees, etc.

Finally, if using Polylino puts more picture books in the hands of children, all the better. I firmly believe that picture books introduce young children to stories and the world of art.

So, I am now pleased to provide suggestions on how teachers might best use the books found on the Polylino app.

ILT EDUCATION 25CHAPTER TEN

Chapter Eleven: Books to Start With

Anansi and the Pot of Beans Told by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk Illustrated by Baird Hoffmire August House Press, 2006. 32pp. ISBN#: 978-0874838114

The word “Anansi” literally means “spider.” And what a spider Anansi is! This book is one of many that tells one story of the world-famous character from the trickster folk tale originally told in Ghana, a nation in west Africa. Anansi usually outsmarts his opponent, but also can get into all sorts of mischief. In Anansi and the Pot of Beans, the spider disobeys his grandmother and pays the price for doing so; he loses his hair. Preschoolers will enjoy the story and the colorful illustrations. With the teacher’s guidance, they will also learn something about spiders.

Before or During ReadingThe following questions may help get the conversation about the book going:

• On page 9, what were Grandma’s instructions to Anansi before she left? (After reading page 9, the teacher might ask one or two children to reply to this question)

• On page 11, Anansi’s nose twitched, and his mouth began to water. Ask the children to show what their twitching noses look like.

• On page 28, the other animals think that Anansi is doing a funny dance. Ask one child to stand up and do a funny dance. After that child sits down, ask another to do the same.

ILT EDUCATION 26CHAPTER ELEVEN

After ReadingAfter the story has ended, ask “What happened to Anansi’s hair?”. Move into a discussion about real spiders.

• Do they wear clothes like Grandma and Anansi?

• Look at page 9. Grandma has on a jacket with six sleeves. She has an arm/leg in each one.

• Look at page 13. Anansi has three arms/legs in each of two sleeves. Both Grandma and Anansi have one arm/leg each in one shoe. Explain to the children that spiders have 8 legs that also serve as arms.

Show the students a picture of a real spider and ask them if spiders have hair? Compare the picture of the real spider to Anansi and Grandma.

Your students will continue to hear Anansi stories as they continue into elementary school. This book serves as a nice introduction to the folktales.

Other Books You Might Want to Share:

Anansi the Spider, by Gerald McDermott

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peoples’ Ears, by Leo and Diane Dillon


Are You My Brown Bear? By Harriet Ziefert Illustrated by Christine O’Donovan Blue Apple Books, 2020. 23 pp. ISBN#: 978-1609055127

Can a brown bear be more than just brown? Can he also be hairy? Can she also be scary? Harriet Ziefert’s book, beautifully illustrated by Christine O’Donovan, reminds us that book characters can have multiple traits. With rhymes and descriptive adjectives, preschoolers will want to help the little girl find the perfect bear to snuggle with in bed.

After ReadingRead Are You My Brown Bear? all the way through before asking these questions:

• Which bear turned out to be the “beddy” bear?

• Why do you think the little girl chose the bear she did?

• Flip back through the book, asking would this bear work to be the little girl’s bear?

• For example, on page 8, would the circus bear have worked?

• Would the buzzy bear on page 11 work?



Goldilocks and the Three Bears, retold and illustrated by Jan Brett

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Eric Carle

Bear Wants to Fly, by Susanna Isern and illustrated by Silvia Álvarez (see Polylino)

Don’t Turn the Page! By Rachelle Burk Illustrated by Julie Downing Creston Books, 2014. 32 pp. ISBN#: 978-1939547064

Before reading the story, show the children the cover of the book. Tell the class that you will be reading a story about a bear who is getting ready for bed and ask the children to share what they do to get ready for bed.

After sharing, provide a short summary of the story by telling the children, “In the story we will read today, Mama Hedgehog has a special trick to help little hedgehog get ready for bed. Let’s see how Mama helps little hedgehog fall asleep.”


As you read the story, be sure to distinguish the switch in perspective from Hedgehog getting ready for bed and the story about the bears. The switch from the storybook pages to Sami getting ready for bed could be confusing at first.

Before or During ReadingPoint out to the children as you read:

• Pages 1-2: Ask the children: What is Sami doing? Do you think he is ready for bed?

• Pages 3-4: Point to the storybook Mama is reading as you begin to read it to the children. Point out to the children that Mama is reading a book to Sami about a little bear.

• Pages 13-14: Ask the children: How do you think Sami feels about the story? (If children are stuck, point out that Sami asked Mama to keep reading the book even when he brushes his teeth.)

• Pages 25-26: Ask the children to notice if anything looks the same between Bear and Sami. (Both Bear and Sami have a teddy, both have fallen asleep.)

After ReadingAfter you finish the story, ask the children:

• Mama read a special story to Sami in this book. What was the story about?

• Engage the children in noticing the parallels between Sami and the story about the bear. Return to the first page and ask the children what Sami is doing. Turn to the first page of the storybook and children will notice that Bear is playing with toys, too. Continue going through the pages of the book and ask children to notice similarities and differences between Sami and Bear. (Putting on pajamas, brushing their teeth, cuddling with Mom, snuggling a teddy)

• Why do you think Mama picked out the story about the bear getting ready for bed?

• Do you think Sami will ask Mama to read the story again the next night?



Again!, by Emily Gravett

The Monster at the End of this Book, by Jon Stone and illustrated by Michael Smollin

Things I Love About Books, by Kay Widdowson (see Polylino)

Mariama: Different but Just the Same By Jeronimo Cornelles Illustrated by Nivola Uya Cuento de Luz, 2014. 28 pages. ISBN#: 978-8416147601

Mariama moves from her home in a country in West Africa where the people have brown skin to a country in the Western World… perhaps a Scandinavian country… where the people have white skin. While there are other differences that Mariama notices, the color of skin seems to be the biggest difference.

Before or During ReadingAs you begin to read the book to children, have them take a close look at the cover. Ask them to name the things they see there and then to watch for these things to reappear as you read the story.


Before or During Reading (contd.)The first thing from the cover the preschoolers will notice is the bird on the vibrantly colored endpapers. Before turning to the title pages, point out the red to orange to yellow shades used (you might want children to do a similar painting later).

Point out the bird that reappears on the first pages of the story. On the 2nd and 3rd pages, stop and ask the children what they think the “metal bird” was; what were the “long grey tongues?”

After ReadingAfter you have read the entire story, ask the preschoolers:

• Before coming to the new country, what did Mariama use to help her eat?

• In the new country, what did Mariama now use to help her eat?

• After becoming friends with Hugo and Paula, what did Mariama learn?

• And what did Hugo and Paula learn from Mariama?

• What made Mariama sad at night? How would she get happier?

In the endnotes, you will see descriptions of some of the African terms used in the book. Discussions of these will help children better understand parts of the story when it is read to them again.



Whoever You Are, by Mem Fox and illustrated by Leslie Staub

Same, Same But Different, by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

The Day You Begin, by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Luca’s Bridge/El Puente de Luca, by Mariana Llanos and illustrated by Anna López Real (see Polylino)

Mosquitoes By Leo Statts ABDO, 2018. 24 pp. ISBN#: 978-1532125096

The beautiful photographs in this book provide preschoolers with images that support the text very nicely.

Before or During ReadingTo begin the lesson, show the children the cover of the book. Ask:

• Who has had a mosquito bite?

• What did it feel like?

• Open the book to the Table of Contents. You might say, “This is what we are going to learn about…”:


Before or During Reading (contd.)• On page 4, we will learn a little information about

mosquitoes.

• On page 6, we will learn about the Habitat…or where mosquitoes live.

• On page 12, we will learn about the Food mosquitoes eat.

• Read the book, stopping at page 13 to ask, “I wonder why male mosquitoes don’t drink blood!”

• On page 16, we will learn about the mosquito’s Life Cycle… or what happen during their short lives.

• At the end of the book, on page 22, tell the children what a glossary is. Read the list of definitions.

• On page 24, show the index and give an example of how to use an index.


Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale, by Verna Aadema and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Honeybee, by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann

Ticks, by Leo Statts (see Polylino)


Nursery Rhyme Time: A Collection of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes Illustrated by Amy Mullen xist Publishing, 2016. 32 pp. ISBN#: 978-1681952925

For your read aloud, you may choose to read a select few nursery rhymes that are most familiar and appropriate for your class. Many of the nursery rhymes in this book are no longer appropriate for today’s children (e.g., There Was an Old Woman) and can be omitted from your lesson. Below are suggestions for selected nursery rhymes from the book and ways to engage the children in a read-aloud.

Before reading, ask the children if they have any favorite songs to sing with their family (children may offer examples such as You are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, The Wheels on the Bus, etc.). Share with the children that this book is a collection of songs that we can sing together, and that they may even recognize some of them.

• The Cat and the Fiddle

• Humpty Dumpty

• The Robin

• The Donkey

• Miss Muffet

• The Mouse and the Clock

• Jack and Jill

• Old Mother Goose

After reading a nursery rhyme, sing it again and ask children to sing along if they know the words. Add finger play, movement, and rhythm to further engage children in the rhyme. For older children, ask if they can identify words that rhyme in the song (e.g., read the phrase “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall / Humpty Dumpty had a great fall” and ask children if they hear the words that sound the same).


Example ActionsExamples of movement activities you could pair with nursery rhymes:

• Hickory Dickory Dock: As you sing, move your fingers like a mouse scurrying up and down a clock (similar to The Itsy-Bitsy Spider). Invite the children to move around on the rug like mice as you sing the song.

• The Donkey: As you sing, pretend to bray like a donkey, lift your ears, and blow your horn. Invite the children to do a donkey yoga pose where they pose on their hands and knees and kick their legs behind them like a donkey. Or, invite the children to pretend to be asleep and get woken up by the donkey braying.

• Humpty Dumpty: As you sing, invite the children to hold their body in the shape of an egg (legs curled into their belly and arms wrapped around their legs). Practice rolling in place like an egg and falling down.


My Very First Mother Goose, collected by Iona Opie and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Sylvia Long’s Mother Goose, by Sylvia Long

Animal Nursery Rhymes, Family Treasury of Classic Tales (see Polylino)


Planets By Rachel Rose Bearport Publishing, 2021. 24pp. ISBN#: 978-1647475079

Before or During ReadingBefore reading the book, show the children the cover. Ask:

• Does anyone know what planet we live on?

• What do you know about the other planets?

As you read the book, stop on the following pages and ask (or point out):

• Page 9: Why do you think Venus is so hot?

• Page 13: Does anyone know what a volcano is? Do we have these on Earth?

• Page 15: Point out how tiny Earth is compared to Jupiter.

• Page 18: Why do you think Uranus and Neptune have so much ice?

After ReadingAfter finishing the book, ask the preschoolers to draw pictures of what they learned. Label their pictures for them.



The Planets of Our Solar System, by Jonathan Ernest Vidamo

My First Book of Planets: All About the Solar System for Kids, by Bruce Betts

Where I Live: My Planet, by Meg Gaertner (see Polylino)

Thank You, Crow By Michael Minkovitz Illustrated by Jose D. Medina Penny Candy Books, 2018. 40 pp. ISBN#: 978-0998799988

Before or During ReadingTo begin the read aloud, show the children the cover of the book and read the title. Ask:

• What do you notice on the cover? Who do you think will be in this story?

• Have you seen a crow before?


Before or During Reading (contd.)As you read, pause on a few pages to engage the children in making predictions and drawing inferences about the story:

• Page 2: Who do you think is hiding in the bush? How can you tell? (The students will notice the feathers flying in the air, and the squawking sound coming from the bush.)

• Page 15: By now the preschoolers will notice the pattern of the story: Crow searches for an object and gives it to Sebastian. Ask the children what they think crow will do next.

• Page 29: The children will notice that the crow built a rocket ship. Ask them how each object was important for building the rocket ship: What do the fire extinguishers do? How did Crow use the spoons? The can?

After ReadingAfter you have finished the entire story, ask the preschoolers:

• When people say something is “junk,” what do they think about that object? Do most people keep junk or throw it away?

• I wonder where Crow got the idea to make those objects into a rocket ship. (Return to the first page of the story where Sebastian is playing with a toy rocket ship.) What is Sebastian playing with? I wonder if Crow noticed that Sebastian likes rocket ships?

• Why do you think Crow built a rocket ship for Sebastian? (If students are stuck, return to the page where Sebastian removes the arrow from Crow’s wing.) What makes Sebastian a good friend? What makes Crow a good friend?


In the following days, you could extend the read-aloud into a loose parts project where students collect an item from home or the recycling bin and create something new with the collection of objects.


Crows! Strange and Wonderful, by Laurence Pringle and illustrated by Bob Marstall

How to Heal a Broken Wing, by Bob Graham

Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis

Kindness, by Katie Wilson (see Polylino)


ILT Education, 2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2120, Toronto, ON M4W 3E2, Canada www.ilteducation.com


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Preschool (aged one to six) - ILT Education